Miss Fame Ranks the 10 Best Looks from Paris Couture Shows

By Phillip Picardi

Miss Fame Ranks the 10 Best Looks from Paris Couture Shows

For years, people have questioned the viability of couture as a business and a fashion week and yet it persists. In a few short days, twice a year a highly curated list of designers show their haute couture collections, inviting a similarly tightly edited guests. Some of them pay top dollar four one-of-a-kind garments, while the rest of us use the shows as the perfect inspiration for the months to come. When we spotted Miss Fame out at the shows during the week, we asked the Drag Race alum and fashion plate to narrow down her favorite moments from the collections.

Here she drops the dime on the bold, the beautiful, and the best couture from the spring 2019 shows.

Viktor & Rolf

"It was so bold, so straightforward, and stated fact — it was stating our current millennial facts in a really straightforward way. The way it photographed was so interesting because there’s this base tone that’s a peachy-pastel kick, and then there’s all of these folds the way it catches the light and all these traces of blue, magenta, and orange. The statement on the front is making fun of its own self — it’s a contrary statement with the scale of the fabric.

These were the biggest pieces I’d seen for all of Couture — you really took a second to look at them because the way they entered the room, you had to look one at a time. You were able to watch them, read them, focus on them, they touched you as they walked beside you, so you were unavoidably impressed by the garment. This specific one, I love the color! If I were to wear an oversized piece, I would need a color — these garments are meant to keep people away, but they’re also meant to make you see."

Iris Van Herpen

"Iris Van Herpen’s collection is small — she didn’t do 60 pieces, and she didn’t have to. The way she presented this was so special, it felt ethereal. It’s specific, because every time you always get Iris — chic, paper, the inside of a mushroom-cap vibe, a lot of layering, textures, it flows, and feels like it could be deep sea or deep space. Everything is very interesting. I know she utilizes a laser cut to get these precise layering effects and because I wore a previous collection piece with a headpiece, which is one of the most profound looks I’ve ever worn as Miss Fame, and I got to meet with her afterward and thank her. She was super complementary! I got dressed in her garment in the Opera Garnier in a restroom, and it was a moment!

When I saw her show, I thought she took you to another place. You were able to observe it. When the show closed, what you got was a lot of the garments hitting the floor illuminated so you were seeing a light beam at the feet, and then there was a halo of smoke that hovered above their heads that projected the universe. You didn’t know what planet you were in, it was spectacular. This piece is special because of the symmetry and the fantasy she’s projecting. It looks like a Lady Gaga music video — you could put a mirror int he middle o fher and there’s no flaw. It was absolute perfection."

Jean Paul Gaultier

"This was the line-breaker for the collection — there was no sister or partner in crime and it was a one-off of its own style. I’ve met Cindy Bruna, the model wearing it, before and she’s absolutely gorgeous and her legs were #goals. I love her and she looks so good on it, and I love seeing her have success! I come from the ‘90s so the models were the show back then. Now, we’ve gotten to a point where the models are becoming the show again, but they’re all the famous families’ kids, so when I see somebody who’s not from that who has a big name and is killing it, and this is a model looking impeccable in a garment and could wear anything!

This is a mile’s worth of fabric they’ve woven together to create this epic train. The cut was so cute, it’s probably something I could rock, and would be featuring my best assets: My legs and my face. It would be beautiful to sit in, too! You could swing it to the side and sit amongst it! AND you don’t have to wear a corset."

Givenchy

"The whole collection was classic Givenchy — it felt like what they do. It wasn’t overly surprising, but Givenchy is one of those labels that I can wear as a man any day of the week or I can wear out of my fantasy and feel really, really chic. There’s something about them where they just do black impeccably. When I looked at this piece specifically, it was the makeup that brought me in. I know Pat McGrath did the faces for this collection and the visual of having this orb enlightened and a spiritually illuminated face right form the third eye Chakra — this design of makeup is so inspiring.

I looked at the garments and I found this specific piece off the cuff, it was something different. The fringe reminds me of performance, of the queens who do pageants and crazy high kicks! When they spin, everything spins. It had both that performance fringe, which feels drag culture, and then a soft and breathy fabric, which keeps it light. It’s something I’m not sure I’d wear, I just like it because it’s different for them."

Valentino

From all the collections I observed, I saved a lot of Valentino into my phone more than any other collection. I loved the florals, I loved the stockings matching the garment matching the head fringe, and really beautiful color palettes, really feminine and very Valentino. His casting was impeccable, but closing with Naomi is the statement. I loved who he had walking, and it was appropriate for the brand because they’ve got history and roots. The garment she wore — the selling point was her being nude, completely exposed, showing her impeccable physique, her lines, her beauty. This garment is a shape that you’d have to be really comfortable in the skin you’re in, and it doesn’t matter your body type because the garment has space. But I love the translucent effect so you can experience the human form.

Chanel

Now, Chanel is traditional and itself all the time. I absolutely love this finale because it’s a vintage 1920’s swimsuit vibe, which is amazing because it’s like, “I’m gonna wear a swimsuit to my wedding.” It’s all bathingsuit. You would have to be in a really nice Palm Springs wedding invite to rock this specific garment. It’s cute, I love the swimming cap and the perspective of the wedding look.

Schiaparelli

"This was a special day for me, because the location was so epic. We were at the Opera Garnier, it is absolutely breathtaking from the ceiling to the floor and walking in there was a warmth. We had a full floral backdrop for the photos, it was an early morning show, and I had a full schedule that day, but seeing this collection made me happy because the history of Schiaparelli has a lot of drama! But it was all done in a fresh, modern way. I love the proper, fitted coat and the waistline, and the shape of these shorts (or is it a skirt?) is very wearable. I can see this girl in New York — she’s cool. The layers of floral appliqués also made me really happy! A lot of the garments cut like this, when you saw the profile, you saw an exaggerated lower back ruffle or extension, which gave you a little booty and made the body line look more dramatic. It’s good on pretty much everybody."

Christian Dior

"The whole fantasy of the circus/court jester made me excited! I loved the headpieces, and we saw something similar with the swim cap vibe. When I saw these pieces shared, it’s super sophisticated — Dior is always really well done.

This specific dress is so beautiful, the beadwork and the painting you’re looking at, and all the ruffle on the outer edge is editorial, but also wearable. It exposes features that women like to show! You’ve got your legs out, you’ve got your face out. The collection was just beautiful."

Alexandre Vauthier

"I love Teddy Quinlivan, the model. She’s a great model and is really strong on the runway. I selected this because of her. She sold it to me! And this was the only garment on that runway that wasn’t a neutral — beige, champagne. The collection throughout is made for women that want to look sexy as a party, and it’s super wearable for women who have money and want to look hot! This shape and silhouette is a classic, structural design, but with an interesting finish. I love that there’s neither a boot or a legging, but that continual shoe I love. The color, and that it’s covered in crystals is really exciting , but Teddy sold it for me, personally."

Maison Margiela

"I chose the simplest piece I could find! The collection was really intense — very visual. The background was as loud as the collection itself. The shoes I don’t need, but I found that the specific look is interesting. The waist made me happy, the pants are interesting — it’s just flattering. The detailing, the stitchwork, the buttons, this is the one piece I’d be able to wear."